What was the Dawn of the Atomic Age?

Answer 1

The Dropping of the Atomic Bomb:

Hiroshima (August 6, 1945) and Nagasaki (August 9, 1945)

In late May 1945, a committee of military officers and Manhattan Project scientists chose Kokura Arsenal, Hiroshima, Niigata and Kyoto as potential targets for the atomic bombs. They believed that attacks on these cities, none of which had been bombed before, would have a profound psychological effect on the Japanese. Kyoto was later removed from the list because of its cultural and historical significance, and Nagasaki was added in its place.

With the capture of Iwo Jima and Okinawa, the distance from US troops and Japan closed greatly. Thousands of lives were lost in the occupation of Iwo Jima and Okinawa. President Truman feared that an invasion on Japan would cost thousands more lives. This fear sparked the decision to drop the Atomic Bomb. The first bomb was dropped on Hiroshima. Hiroshima was hit first because it held no American POW's and was an important communications center for the Japanese military. The B-29 Superfortress dubbed "Enola Gay" after the pilot's mother, was the first plane to drop the Atomic bomb. Pilot Col. Paul Tibbets brought the plane up to an altitude of 31,000 feet then released "Little Boy". The Enola Gaybanked sharply and accelerated, getting 11.5 miles away from the site before the bomb exploded.

The 'Enola Gay' lands safely after delivering its earth shattering paylod.

"There was the mushroom growing up, and we watched it blossom. And down below it, the thing reminded me more of a boiling pot of tar than any other description I can give it. It was black and boiling underneath with a steam haze on top of it. And, of course, we had seen the city when we went in, and there was nothing to see when we came back. It was covered by this boiling, black-looking mess."--Col. Paul Tibbets.